Suns at Warriors: What bettors need to know

The Golden State Warriors are showing some fight, and it is leading to wins. The Warriors will look to post their fourth straight triumph and gain ground in the Pacific Division when they host the scorching Phoenix Suns on Friday. Golden State earned a 105-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in game that featured a pair of ejections, two flagrant fouls and a scrum after the final buzzer between the clubs.

The Warriors figured on battling the Clippers all season in the Pacific but the Suns are more of a surprise and have won three straight and eight of the last nine - including one over Golden State on Dec. 15 - thanks to a well-rounded offense and rapid ball movement. “It gets real contagious, especially when everybody else is hitting and making shots,” Phoenix guard Eric Bledsoe said. The Warriors can fill it up as well but are also making a mark defensively in the last three games.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)

LINE: The Warriors opened as 6-point faves and now sit a -6.5. The total opened at 209.5.COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Phoenix (-9) - Golden State (-9.5) + home court (-3) = Golden State -3.5

ABOUT THE SUNS (17-10, 20-6-1 ATS): Phoenix’s backcourt duo of Bledsoe and Groan Dragic makes the offense go, but bench pieces like Markieff and Marcus Morris and Gerald Green are also capable of putting up big scoring numbers. The Suns are getting surprising contributions from center Miles Plumlee, who played only 55 total minutes with Indiana last season but is averaging close to a double-double (9.7 points and 9.1 rebounds) and is coming off a 17-point, 20-rebound effort in a 117-90 drubbing of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. “It’s exciting, I guess,” Plumlee said, “because I know I can do better.”ABOUT THE WARRIORS (17-13, 13-15-2 ATS): Golden State can counter Plumlee down low with Andrew Bogut and David Lee, who became the first pair of teammates since Rich Kelley and Truck Robinson of the 1978 New Orleans Jazz to post 10 consecutive games of 10 or more rebounds apiece in Wednesday’s win over the Clippers. Bogut is also a key to the defense, which held the Lakers and Denver Nuggets to an average of 82 points and kept Chris Paul off the board in the final minute of Wednesday’s triumph to extend the winning streak. The Warriors are playing their final home game Friday before a six-game road trip. “I think that’s three in a row now and we’re just trying to build something for this East Coast trip coming up,” Lee said after beating Los Angeles.

TRENDS:

* Home team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.* Over is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in Golden State.* Suns are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings.* Suns are 6-16 ATS in the last 22 meetings in Golden State.BUZZER BEATERS:

1. The Warriors had a six-game winning streak in the series come to an end with a 106-102 loss at the Suns in the last meeting.

2. Dragic scored 21 points in the Dec. 15 matchup but has been limited to an average of 15 in his last four contests.

3. Golden State G Stephen Curry is struggling to 15.7 points on 32.6 percent shooting over the last three games.

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The Sabres were expected to move players at the trade deadline, but sending their top goaltender to the Islanders appears to be a rather curious move. Buffalo had already moved Jhonas Enroth to Dallas in exchange for Anders Lindback, who began his career with the lightning.

Lindback has been brutal this season, posting a record of 0-7-0 with a 3.95 GAA in seven starts with the Stars. He seems to be the most likely candidate to start tonight in Tampa. In the event that the Sabres choose to press Johnson into action, he's not been that sharp either, coming off a loss to Carolina that saw him surrender five goals on 41 shots.

Tampa owns the NHL's most potent offense, averaging over 3.3 goals per game. That could spell disaster for the Sabres who own the league's worst defense, surrendering more than 3.3 goals per game.

Tampa has won it's last three versus the Sabres, totaling a dozen goals in those three games. We should expect Lightning to strike in Tampa tonight.

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